Power-generating apparatus



n. boMENICo.

POWER GENERATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DEc.27.192o.

1,385,526. Patented July 26, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- ZUM en z'e D..DOMENCO.

POWER GENERATING APPARATUS.

APPLIcATIoIN` FILED nmz?. 1920.

1,385,526, Patented July 26, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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JJ l l Momie?? consists of branches 4openingf'to the atmosphere atalow level, and which are covered UNITED, i, STATES- lDEIANA DOMENICO, or sAN rItANcIsco, CALIFORNIA.

'POWER-GENERATING APrARA'I'Us.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, DniANA DOMENICO, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at the city and county of San Francisco and Statey Y of California, have invented certain new and useful improvements in PowenGenerating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. f

The present `invention relates to improvements `in apparatusfor obtaining power from the movements of air due to differences in temperature, theobject of the invention being to provide such an apparatus by which power. may be obtained very economically., l

' or sacrificing any of the advantages o-f the Theinvention consists broadly -of anapparatus or device in which the changesin temperature 0f a current of air in an air canal or channel cause a draft kor an air current to flow from thelower extremity of the air canal to the top, and in its passage ac-A tuates a power wheel. lThe channel or canal with earth and are subject to thelheat of the earth, they openingrinto a cylinder of large diameter, in which'is rotatably' mounted a smaller cylinder, mounting vanes between the surface of the two cylinders so as to provide a running lit orjoint. Byvheating the air above the small cylinder to: permit the sudden and rapid expansion, the air current will become swifter through they pas-4 l t to Figs. l and 2 thereof, 1 indicates tubes locatedin the ground and extending obliquely Ito the surface of they ground from points 'as low as are convenient beneath said sur face, and opening' at their lower ends into vsubterranean passages 2 through ywhich air sage between the cylinders, and, of course, will turn the much faster.

. rlhe longer the conduit is, theA greaterfwill l be the speed of the air current, the height being limited only by thelimitations "of opening at the base of the mound so that there is anv elevation between-the level at which the branches openV into the atmosphere and the levelwhere the branches open,` into the cylinder.l But this is not absolutely necessary. The current through these branches must be controlled so that at any time any number of them may be closed and thereby cut 01T the current.A The number of the branches shouldneverkbe less than four, so that there may be one exposed at each 45 Specification of Letterslatent. y

power wheel cylinder that Patented July 2,6', 1921. 'v Application ledDecember 27, v1920. Serial No. 433,178.

degrees. These branches immersed in theV earth as they are, will become heated therebyl hereinafter described, illustrated in` the ac-v companying drawings, and set forth in the' invention.

jects in view, the invention consists in the i .i novel construction and combination of parts In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 f isa vertical sectional view of improved apparatus,

Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal sections on the lines 2 2, 3--3 of Fig. l,

Fig. 4 isa side view of a cylindrical motor, .F ig. 5 is a sectionalview showing a shaft and ball bearing therefor,

'.Fig. 64 is a horizontal view on lthe line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

a unit of my For clearness of apprehension 0f my in- A vention, 'I shall first describe in detail a single unit thereof and will then describe the vmanner in which said units are assembled to form a complete apparatus.

Referring' to the drawings', and especially can flow. Said lower ends can be closed when desired by gate 3.

Said tubes converge at their upper ends and each tube terminates in an upper' outlet Llwhich outlets are in the form 'of arcs of a circle about a common center, each occupying about one` ioo fourth of the circumference of said circle. t Consequently, said slots register with corre-I upper edge, said ring being held by means of tie-rods 12, passing through said plate f and-having nuts 13 upon their lower ends.

Within the cylinder 8 and secured theretoY are horizontally extending upper and lower disks 14 and through central holes in said disks extends a shaft 15 securedV to said disk.

rscribed', it results that any air currents passing upward. through the tubes 1 would iowv out through the slots 5 andl impinge against said helical vanes 16, and would impart rotation to said cylinder about itsV axis..

tended beneath the lower bearingsf20 and carrying. a screw' 21 which meshes with a Y of said. cylinder, said shaft26 and pulley 27 are rotated. The current Vof airY ti'ravelingy upward escapes into and-rapidly expands with an air chamber 29, of` a cross sectional area considerably greater than that'ofY the.

space vof the upper portion 31 of which converges, said air 'currentgthen flowing into a stack 32, having at itsyupper end an elbow 33 carrying "ai vertical shaft 3tf,which rotates in bearings 36 supported by spiders 37within the stack 33,;so that saidfelbow can rotate upon said stack. The elbow carries a director vaneV 38 and also -a cone 4:1 which converges ltoward the discharge end of-,said

rection toward which the wind is blowing cool.

y:als

andthe result is. that the wi-nd blowing into lthe wide end of the cone and escaping from the-narrow end thereof assistsin creating a draft throughl saidfstack. Y

By means of this contrivance, lI take. advantage of the Vfact that in general' the groundiscoolertthan the, air above it, and, consequently, that'air currents flowing through passages in the ground arel comparatively The cold air sinks or -is drawn into said passages and flows upward, the air in the tubes 1. nearer tothe surface of the ground', and, therefore, being warmer, ascending creating a draft. the air or expansion chamber 29 and in the vstack dueto its relatively sudden change in temperature and consequent rapid expansion, rises and flows out from the stack, this action being increased 'by therelative increased area of the interiorof chamber 29 over the area of the space 7; this expansion with their discharge ends radiating .from a spaced therefrom.

Also the air in draft being also assisted by the wind, as already explained. Consequently, there is. imparted a constant revolution to the cylinder 8 rotating the shaft 15 and the pulley 27. v Having thus' described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to.` protect by Letters Patent is Y Y f 1. An atmospheric: power generator including a plurality of open tubes disposed common point andY embedded in the earth withY their receiving ends communicating with the atmosphere ata point below their discharge ends, a cylindrical vertically disf f posed chamber into which the discharge ends of saidv tubes discharge, a'power cylinder rotatably mounted on a vertical yaxis within..

v Y saidchamber and ofv azdiameter less than that The shaft 15 rotates in ball bearings 19,- 20, vnear its upper. andy lower ends, being eX-' of said chamber, providingv aV restricted lair passage between the periphery of said: cylinder. and said chamberwall, a series of'vanes carried Aby and projecting outwardly from the periphery of the cylinder, said'vanes being disposed spirally vl'ong-itudifnally ofthe VcylinderV withftheir' edges in extremefclose `elbow rotatably supported ontheupper end of saidstack, afdirectionvane carried by said elbow, and. a cone around saidV elbow and converging toward its discharge end and 2. In combinationV withia subterranean passage opening atfits opposite end at the vsurface of the ground', a cylindrical vertically'disposed chamber positioned over the 105 discharge end.y of .said passage .and into .which the sameV discharges, an. Velongated Y cyllnder closed at its oppositeends and mounted to rotate on a vertical axisV within said chambeigsaid cylinderbeing of a diame- 110 Y ter slightlyless than that of said chamber, providing between. said cylinder and cham7 ber wall a relatively long restrictedv air pas-g 1 sage, a plurality 'of vanes radiating from? theperiphery of theV cylinder and disposed inVV longitudinal Vspirals aboutV the same .with their free edges in close proximityfto the surface of saidchamber wall, an-V expansion chamber communicating directly' with said air passage and positioned directly there-*1 120 above,. said expansion chamber having af cross Vsectional area vconsiderably greater Athan thatof said airpassage, and. a stack extending vertically from said chamber.

In testimony whereof I have. signed my '125 name to this specification. l

'f DEIANA DOMENICO. 

